Report of relocation triggers trail of denials

Feb. 10, 2012

NYSEG Stadium in Binghamton has hosted an Eastern League team since 1992. / File photo

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BINGHAMTON -- The first report came in June: the Binghamton Mets were leaving town, bound for Nassau County.

The next report was in October: this time, the destination was Ottawa. That report was repeated in November. And again on Friday.

And Friday was the tipping point for B-Mets president Michael Urda.

"The Binghamton Mets have not been sold, and we have not been contacted by anyone interested in our club," Urda angrily said. "There's 12 teams in the Eastern League and we have to address it every single week ... Enough's enough."

Urda's frustration stems from a report in the Ottawa Citizen that projects the following:

» The B-Mets would be sold to Boston-based Beacon Sports Capital, which would relocate the team to Ottawa and work on getting an affiliation with the Blue Jays, setting in motion a rearrangement of affiliations throughout the Eastern League;

» The B-Mets ownership group would then buy the Batavia Muckdogs, a Class-A New York-Penn League team, and relocate them to NYSEG Stadium for the 2013 season.

To the first part of that scenario, Jay Horwitz, public relations director of the New York Mets -- the B-Mets' parent -- responded in an e-mail: "Mr. Urda's comments cover everything."

Then, Naomi Silver, President and CEO of the Rochester Red Wings, who run the daily operations of the Batavia franchise, responded to the second part of the scenario: "I haven't heard from anybody about this. I don't think anything is moving in that direction that I'm aware of. Nobody has reached out to me."

Brian Paris, president of the Genesee County Baseball Club, which owns the Muckdogs, also told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle nobody has contacted him about a sale.

Which leaves the following unanswered: Why is there an impression that the B-Mets could be sold?

"I don't know," Urda said. "Call Beacon Sports Capital."

A message for Richard Billings, Beacon's managing director and chief operating officer, was not returned.

A call was returned by Eastern League president Joe McEacharn, who had his own theory: "Somebody looks at the attendance standings of the teams, and picks the bottom teams."

The B-Mets had the lowest average attendance of any team in the 12-team Eastern League last season: 3,167 for home dates. Binghamton is also the second-smallest market in the Eastern League, larger than only Altoona.

Ottawa, with an estimated population of 883,391, is almost as large as the cumulative population of the 12 cities that comprise the Eastern League (1.125 million). That total grew only in the past two years when the club in Norwich, Conn., relocated to Richmond, Va.

"It's fair to say that the league is involved in an exploratory process to make a determination on whether Ottawa is a good fit for the Eastern League," McEacharn said. "We have not made a decision, nobody has asked to relocate, we're not even considering a club moving there. What we're trying to make a determination on is if Ottawa fits and will improve the Eastern League.

"This is no different in what we did with Richmond. The question is, is Ottawa a viable Eastern League city? Is it an improvement over where we are today?" McEacharn said. "Is it a long-term situation? We're not looking for short-term answers, we're looking for long-term. We're so early in the process. We've not made a determination of whether Ottawa even geographically makes sense."

The newest reports began gaining steam once the City of Ottawa announced a tentative partnership with Beacon to upgrade Ottawa Stadium, committing $5.7 million in taxpayer money to upgrades with the goal of hosting an Eastern League team.

For its part, Beacon would commit $3 million for a new scoreboard and other facility development. It would also pay the city of Ottawa $257,000 per year for a 10-year lease with two five-year extension options.

The B-Mets pay $1 per year in rent for NYSEG Stadium, according to a copy of the lease renewal obtained through a Freedom of Information Act. When the B-Mets ownership group -- which consists of Urda, Bill and David Maines, and George Scherer -- renewed their lease in November, it did not stipulate the team needed to remain a Double-A affiliate. The original lease, signed in 1991, required ownership to maintain a minor-league affiliation for at least 10 years at "at least a AA standard."

The player development agreement between the B-Mets and the New York Mets -- the contract that enables the New York Mets to send minor leaguers to Binghamton -- expires at the end of the upcoming season.

Adam Rubin, of ESPN New York, said under the proposed Ottawa deal, the Mets affiliation would move to New Britain, the Twins affiliation would move to New Hampshire from New Britain, and the Blue Jays affiliation would be in Ottawa instead of New Hampshire.

New York Mets director of minor league operation Adam Wogan said in November that the Mets had a "good relationship with Binghamton, and we'd like to continue it long-term."

In the short-term, there are 54 days until Opening Day, April 5. The Binghamton Mets will host Akron with the first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

That much is for sure. And who will be the B-Mets' manager?

"We are not ready to announce your manager yet," Horwitz said in his e-mail.